League Of California Cities

The City Council recently decided that Mayor Pro Tem Al Ethans will serve as its voting representative at the annual conference of the League of California Cities. No alternate was chosen.

Re "New cities? Not now," Editorial, Aug. 3 Writing about the financial plight of four new Riverside County cities caused by the state's diversion of vehicle license fee (VLF) funds without a public hearing, The Times suggested that new cities should have mature revenue streams. This is a lot like suggesting a young child should be self-supporting. State law requires proposed new cities to prove their fiscal viability. A few years ago the League of California Cities sponsored legislation to allocate more VLF funds to new cities and to "annexed inhabited areas" for their first five years, since the cities weren't in existence in 2004 when the Legislature passed a law to give property taxes to cities in place of VLF funds.

Councilwoman Lauree Aragona recently finished the League of California Cities continuing education program for elected officials. She completed the Elected Officials Leadership Academy in 18 months instead of the usual two to three years. "It depends on how aggressive someone wants to be with the program," said Erin Maurie, spokeswoman with the League of California Cities. Aragona was among 10 officials who have graduated from the program this year.

El Monte Police Chief Thomas Armstrong oversaw a modestly sized department, with 120 officers patrolling a city of 113,000 residents. But when Armstrong stepped down last year, he was paid nearly $430,000 - significantly more than Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck or Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca. The payday was possible thanks to a clause in Armstrong's contract that allowed him to accrue unlimited sick and vacation hours and sell them back to the city at the end of his career.

Mayor John J. Collins and Councilwoman Laurann Cook recently graduated from the League of California Cities Elected Officials Leadership Academy. Collins and Cook are the only Orange County officials to complete the academy's curriculum, designed to provide skills necessary to oversee fiscal affairs, municipal law, managing employees and other duties. Three other officials statewide also finished the course.

Councilwoman Bev Perry has been appointed to the Community Services Committee of the League of California Cities by league President Patricia Castillo. The committee is responsible for studying matters related to the administration of parks and recreation programs, cultural activities and libraries as well as the planning and coordination of social services.

The Orange County division of the League of California Cities has elected Los Alamitos City Councilman Ronald Bates to the office of first vice president. Bates, who was elected to the Los Alamitos council in April, 1988, has served as second vice president of the league since last October. "This past year has given me new insights into the complex problems that face all of our cities and the role that the league can play in helping to address those problems," he said.

Mayor Ronald O. Loveridge was sworn in Wednesday as president of the League of California Cities at a ceremony in Sacramento. Loveridge, who has previously served as the league vice president and director, will lead the organization that represents the interests of 478 cities. Among the group's chief goals is raising funds for a 2004 statewide ballot initiative to protect local revenue.

Three thousand city officials from throughout California gathered in San Francisco for the 91st annual conference of the League of California Cities--a three-day meeting scheduled for October but postponed due to the Oct. 17 earthquake. The temblor not only changed the dates of the meeting but altered the agenda as well. A special series of sessions dealing with the earthquake were added for the conference.

The city of Adelanto had planned to spend $15 million on affordable housing. Artesia proposed to invest $2.3 million in downtown improvements. Atascadero budgeted $53 million for upgrades including a pedestrian bridge downtown and a better wall at the city zoo. These municipal projects and many more statewide are in question because of a dispute between cities and the state over what should become of hundreds of millions of dollars in property tax...

A group representing Los Angeles and other cities asked the state Supreme Court on Monday to overturn action by Gov. Jerry Brown and the Legislature that will dissolve redevelopment agencies in California unless they pay the state $1.7 billion. The lawsuit filed by the League of California Cities and the California Redevelopment Assn. alleges that the state action, taken to close a budget shortfall, violated a constitutional amendment approved by voters in November that prohibits the state from raiding local tax revenue.

Amid the public outcry over Bell salaries, the League of California Cities has just released a survey of the compensation paid to city managers, and 16 of them, including Roderick Wood of Beverly Hills, reported total compensation of more than $300,000. They included Robert G. Gutierrez, who retired in December as city manager of Moreno Valley and received $459,000 in compensation last year, including $183,000 in accrued leave that was paid off at his departure. The compensation for some of those surveyed includes fringe benefits like car allowances and accrued leave, and is the amount they reported on tax returns.

Cities that provide officials with excessive pay would be subject to significant financial penalties, including a 50% income tax on city council members, under a proposal considered by state lawmakers Wednesday in response to the salary scandal in Bell. The legislation would also require employee compensation and contracts with managers to be approved in open session at least seven days after the details were posted for the public on a city website. Those details would include such extras as bonuses and special vacation, insurance and pension benefits.

The Bell City Council accepted resignations Friday from three top city administrators whose high salaries have prompted public outcry — only to offer a defiant defense of the compensation hours later. City council members emerged from a seven-hour closed-door meeting early Friday morning to announce that City Manager Robert Rizzo, Assistant City Manager Angela Spaccia and Police Chief Randy Adams were leaving their jobs. Officials said the three were not receiving severance packages, but declined to provide any details about the departures or what had been decided behind closed doors.

Mayor Ronald O. Loveridge was sworn in Wednesday as president of the League of California Cities at a ceremony in Sacramento. Loveridge, who has previously served as the league vice president and director, will lead the organization that represents the interests of 478 cities. Among the group's chief goals is raising funds for a 2004 statewide ballot initiative to protect local revenue.

The League of California Cities, Orange County Division, recently reelected Brea City Council member Bev Perry to a second year as president. Perry will continue her role as spokeswoman and chief strategist for the cities. "My focus is on the future," Perry said. "I'm thrilled to represent the city of Brea and work with Orange County cities to realize our full potential."

City Councilwoman Bev Perry has been elected president of the Orange County Division of the League of California Cities for 1997-98. Perry was sworn in as president of the division at the League of California Cities annual conference in San Francisco last month. Perry said that during her term, she will be a voice for Orange County cities, serving as spokeswoman, strategist and media liaison.

The photos show the young volunteers of the Oxnard City Corps building a playground, cleaning the beach, passing out blankets to the homeless. But more than that, the display mounted in Sacramento this week chronicles the gradual success of a program that was jump-started by the city's youth after federal spending cuts eliminated their summer jobs.

Councilman John C. Holmberg has resigned because he's moved out of the city. Holmberg's resignation on Friday came a few weeks before the end of his latest four-year term; he has served on the council for 16 years. Holmberg was first elected to the council in 1980. He was reelected in 1984 and 1988, and after a hiatus of a few years, he was elected again in 1996. He served as mayor in 1985, 1987 and 1991.